Learning
by mk-not-r2d2
Summary: Harry PotterCharmed crossover - the Charmed ones are lead to Hogwarts on a mission which is more than it first seems - soon it is up to a grieving Harry to rescue them.
1. A beginning

Notes: Charmed wise, this is set assuming that Phoebe still has her empath powers (somewhere around whatever series is showing on Channel 5 here in England, I'm not sure exactly which one it is). Piper has had Wyatt, but I'm changing it slightly so that Leo is still their white lighter and Chris has never existed. Just makes it simpler for me ï. Harry Potter wise, the trio are in their 6th year. I've read all the books, so if you haven't, there may be some spoilers here. There will be a variety of pairings here, I haven't written it all yet so expect who's with who to change. I appreciate comments, both praise and constructive criticism, but I don't appreciate pointless criticism without any point to it! 

Disclaimer: These characters aren't mine. Sadly.

Part 1 

The premonition hit her like a gunshot. A boy, somewhere in his mid teens and wearing round glasses over which wisps of his messy dark hair dangled, sat in a high domed room. Beams arched above his head. A robed teacher stood at the front, waving what Phoebe assumed to be some sort of pointer. In fact, the whole scene looked very much like some 19th century classroom, except for the fact that at least one person wore trainers. The boy looked exhausted. Dark smudges under his eyes, panda like, showed that he hadn't slept in quite a while, and his arm supporting his head slipped ever closer to the desk. Most of all, he looked utterly bored. Behind his glasses, his eyes flickered shut, but he opened them again, although with some effort. Then, slowly, they closed again, and his face relaxed.

'Ow!'

A red-hot shiver of pain in her forehead pushed Phoebe back to San Francisco, her empathic senses picking up on... well, whatever it was that the boy had felt just at that moment.

The pretty witch gasped in pain and sank back into an armchair, her moan echoing a little in the empty living room. Her eyes were fixed on the object that had provoked the premonition. It was an English coin, a 50 pence piece, comically shaped compared to the coins the sisters were used to.

The clack of heels from the direction of the kitchen announced Piper's arrival into the room. 'Are you still OK to watch Wyatt? I'm just going out to...' She broke off as she caught sight of her younger sister perched on the edge of the sofa with one hand clutching her forehead and the other gripping the arm of the chair. The older witch frowned.

'Phoebe? Are you alright?'

Phoebe looked up, surprised out of her reverie. 'I.. I think so,' she stuttered. 'I had a premonition... at least I think it was a premonition.' One finger still rubbing a line down the middle of her forehead, she explained to her sister what she had seen. 'And then I just got this pain, right here,' she finished, pointing to her head.

Piper sat down in the chair opposite, her eyes concerned. 'That's strange. Are you sure it was a premonition? Not just a dream with a headache...' She leant across and put her hand on her sister's forehead. 'No fever..'

Phoebe frowned, concentrating on remembering. 'There were no demons. Nothing evil I could see at all. Just... a boy. I think he was in a school.. but, it was weird. Old fashioned but not. It wasn't like any school I've ever seen, anyway.' She paused, her eyes dropping to the coin on the coffee table once more. 'All that happened was that he fell asleep, and I felt the pain, and that was all! No killing, no demon, no nothing.'

Piper leaned across and picked up the coin. 'Maybe you were picking up on what he felt – but you've never felt anything empathically via your premonitions before, have you?' She turned the coin over in her hand, one eyebrow raised. 'Is this what you connected with? Is it European or something?'

'British, I think,' the charmed one replied, automatically. A frown still darkened her face and her eyes were narrowed. 'Paige found it on the sidewalk or something and left it there when she came home at lunch.'

The oldest sister shrugged. It looked like a normal coin – there were no marks or blemishes on it, that was for sure. 'Well, I guess we can try scrying for this boy, whoever he is. You must have had the premonition for a reason. And if we can't find him... you didn't see him dying, so what can we do?'

Phoebe smiled weakly. 'Yeah, I guess. I'll go find the map, you get Paige.'

'Where is she today, anyway?' Piper asked.

Phoebe's smile turned into a grin. 'She's dog-sitting again.'

Piper grimaced. 'She'd better not bring any back with her, this time!' Her sister laughed as she ran up the stairs. The pain in her forehead had disappeared as quickly as it had come.


	2. Explorations

A/N: Well, I thought I'd post this now, since I've typed it up. Part 3 is written but not entirely typed and I've done about half of part 4... so don't expect a part a day for long! I write when the muse takes me... Thanks to the one person who reviewed, I hope I get some more soon!

**Part 2**

'So, this boy we're looking for,' Paige asked casually. 'Just explain to me again why, exactly, we are looking for him? Because I could be going out with Richard tonight...'

Phoebe rolled her eyes. 'Because I had a premonition, so whether there was killing or not, we should help him. He must be an innocent.'

Paige pursed her lips, unconvinced. 'Are you sure you didn't just fall asleep and have some weird dream?'

Her sister shook her head. 'No, I've got this feeling...'

The swinging crystal suddenly stopped, sticking to a point somewhere in the north of England. 'Got it!' Piper called, interrupting her sisters' conversation. Paige peered over her shoulder. 'Durham? Where on earth is that?'

'There, I would say at a guess,' Phoebe replied, pointing at the map and grinning. 'So, let's orb!'

She stepped towards her sister, and then stopped as she saw her expression. 'What's wrong?' Paige's face was a picture of discomfort. 'It's just... what are we actually going to do when we get there? We haven't got a spell, a potion, anything. We don't even know what we're going to face.'

Piper stood up and placed a hand on the youngest charmed one's shoulder. 'Do we ever know what we're going to do, though, really?' she pointed out. 'A premonition has always meant something up to now. And if we get there and don't find anything at all, well, we'll just orb back again.'

Paige laughed cynically. 'Taxi service Paige, that's me!'

A flash of white light later, and the room was empty, save for the shimmer of a few sparkles of white light reflected in the mirror, and the coin, which still lay on the coffee table.

* * *

Little shivers of pain still flickered through Harry's scar as he opened his eyes to find Hermione staring anxiously down at him. 'Harry?' she asked, her tone concerned. 'Are you alright?'

Rubbing his forehead, although he knew it would make no difference, Harry tried to smile at his friend. 'It's OK, don't worry,' he replied. 'It's just the same as always.'

Since that first time this year in History of Magic, when his scar had felt like it was bursting into pain as soon as he fell asleep, Harry had experienced such episodes on a weekly basis. Although he had felt pain like this before, it was only when he had been up close to Voldemort that his head had felt it would actually explode, and he was beginning now to wonder if the Dark Lord was getting closer to Hogwarts. Why else would his scar hurt so much, so often? He didn't want to believe it, though, especially after what had happened last year. He didn't want to be the cause of anyone else he loved getting killed, so he had tried to play it down to Ron and Hermione.

His friends knew him too well. Reminding him of what it might mean (like he didn't know already), they had convinced him to go and speak to Dumbledore. Well, Hermione had. Fat lot of use that was, Harry thought. All that the headmaster had told him was that they all knew Voldemort was getting stronger, and as that happened, so the effect of his presence on Harry would grow.

Harry suspected that the professor was hiding something from him once more, just like last year. So much for that promise of honesty.

For his part, Harry wanted nothing more than to forget what had happened last year, if he couldn't alter time and erase it. A lump formed in his throat whenever Sirius' name was mentioned (and as hard as his friends tried to avoid it, it still came up). All he needed was one more name for Malfoy to jeer at him. 'Crybaby' would just about complete the set.

'Are you sure you're alright?' Hermione pushed. The common room was close to empty, but she spoke quietly, her voice full of concern. 'Leave it, Hermione,' Ron warned from his armchair by the fire. A mountain of Charms homework obscured him from view.

The witch's expression was indignant. 'I was only...'

'Leave it, OK?' Harry snapped. 'It's gone now. I don't want to think about it.' He felt close to tears, but he didn't want Hermione fussing over him. It was one more thing wrong with his life which he could do without.

I can't ruin our friendship by letting myself like her like that, he reminded himself. Feeling the emotions threatening to well out of him, he stood up abruptly, not looking his friend in the eye. 'I'm going to bed,' he muttered, turning swiftly and marching out of the room. As he stomped up the stairs, they blurred in front of him. So many things were wrong. Sirius was dead, the one person he felt he could truly turn to when all else failed. He couldn't do anything about his growing feelings for Hermione –he couldn't admit that he liked it when she was concerned about him. He couldn't sleep for fear of what his dreams might show him – that he might see Voldemort torturing his followers... or torturing Harry's parents.

Last year I wanted that connection, he thought miserably. I was so curious.

Now, he just wished it would all go away. He didn't want to feel the surge of his enemy's emotion each time his scar seared with pain. The constant grief and exhaustion he felt now meant that he kept taking it out on his friends, too. Maybe it would be better if he simply went to sleep and never woke up.

Each night, Harry tried frantically to remember what Snape had taught him of Occlumency the previous year, to clear his mind and try to block the thoughts transmitted to him. But he could never do it, so he instead he sat awake, night after night, gazing at the heavy curtains around his bed and thinking anguished thoughts about the state of his life. At most, he would get a couple of hours of fitful dreaming.

Some Gryffindor I am, he thought. Too scared even to sleep.

The dreams he did have were growing ever more disturbing, and mostly they were seen through Voldemort's eyes.

This evening, he tried to forget what he had seen, and concentrated on how guilty he felt about yelling at Hermione. Maybe he would go and apologise in a few minutes. He frowned at his pillow, planning out what he would say.


	3. Arrivals and Realisations

A/N: Hope you enjoy this part - a few more reviews would be appreciated (muchly)! Thanks to those who've done so so far.

**Part 3**

The common room was now empty save Hermione and Ron. The witch sank back into her armchair, burying her head in her hands. As Ron looked up, brushing his red hair out of his eyes, he saw a tear fall from her cheek to her knee.

Ron let his homework fall to the floor and peered around the pile of work. His eyes widened in surprise, but then he surprised himself as he squatted awkwardly in front of her. 'Don't cry,' he whispered, a blush spreading across his cheeks and clashing with his hair. He looked helplessly at the tears winding down her cheeks and streaking her eyes with red. Hermione wiped her eyes furiously with her hands. 'I just wish he'd let us help him!' she wept, her voice cracking. Ron looked down at his hands, clasped in his lap as he crouched, then back up at his friend's red, puffy eyes. Instinctively, he reached up and wiped away the tears with one large thumb.

'Ron, what can we...?' She broke off as he placed a finger on her lips, then leaning in closer, he kissed her, at first tentatively, then more surely as she responded. His awkwardness gone, his hands crept around her waist, embracing her, as she allowed herself to be pulled up out of the chair. Her hands found his back and her tears streamed down his cheeks.

To the pair in the dancing light of the fire, the moment seemed to last forever.

They broke apart at a small noise from the stairwell. Harry's green eyes stared at them through his glasses. 'I was going to apologise,' he began coldly. 'But I see you don't need me to.' Without waiting for a response, he turned and ran up the stairs.

'Harry, wait!' Hermione called, breaking away from Ron and running after Harry. But he had already made it to his dormitory.

His friends looked at each other, each of their unsure expressions mirroring the other. 'What do we do now?' Ron asked quietly, his voice quavering. It was a question with so many meanings.

* * *

The moorland was barren and rocky in the dark, although in the daytime it would be awash with the purples and greens of a multitude of heathers and butterflies. For a second, a brilliant white light illuminated the landscape, then disappeared, leaving in its stead three brunette women.

Paige stepped forward gingerly, grimacing as she squelched into the wet earth. 'Ew,' she remarked, picking up her foot to inspect the damage. Her elegant brown bootlegs had quickly become soaked.

'Never mind 'ew'', Phoebe whispered. 'Why's it so dark?'

'Well, we're in Britain, aren't we?' Piper asked. Phoebe nodded, her face glowing pale in the night. 'Isn't there some sort of time difference? It must be nighttime here.'

Paige shivered. 'It's cold wherever or whenever we are.'

The witches glanced around. In the dark, they could make out very little, but off in the distance twin sets of lights suggested that there was some sort of dwelling next to a pool or a lake.

Suddenly, the full moon slid out from behind a cloud, lighting up their surroundings. Ahead of them stood a grand castle, to the left a collection of lights like a village, and to the right, a thick black forest.

Phoebe tapped her older sister on the shoulder. 'It's inside there, I know it is,' she whispered, pointing to the castle. Paige groaned.

'Do we have to pick our way across this swamp to get there?' she moaned, her expression pained. She looked pointedly down at her sopping trousers. 'These were new....'

Piper looked at her. 'Who's the half whitelighter here? Orb us!'

Joining hands once more, the sisters flickered out...

And bounced back.

'I can't orb there!' Paige's voice was shrill and shocked. 'There must be some sort of spell holding us out,' Piper muttered. She grinned ruefully at her sister. 'I guess it's walking or nothing.'

Paige glared at Phoebe. 'We'd better not be on a wild goose chase here... or you're buying me some more pants!'


End file.
